Review: NV Chandon Sweet Star California
A definitive crowd-pleaser, Chandon’s Sweet Star is a lightly sweet sparkler, fresh and fruit-forward, with notes of pineapple, mango, and orange blossoms pervasive from start to finish. Mildly fizzy, the wine has a lovely creaminess that translates into a rich, velvety body — but also a zippy (though, again, somewhat sweet) finish. Easy to love,…
Review: Copper & Kings American Dry Gin and Old Tom Gin
From brandy to orange liqueur to absinthe, what doesn’t Louisville-based Copper & Kings make? You can take off of that increasingly short list gin, thanks to two new expressions now being distilled here — a dry gin and an old tom. Both are double distilled in alembic stills. We sampled both expressions. Thoughts follow. Copper &…
Review: Wines of Catalina Sounds, 2018 Releases
No, it’s not from an island off the coast of California, it’s from New Zealand: “The name Catalina Sounds evolved from the majestic Catalina flying boats that played a vital role across the South pacific during and after World War II.” The Catalina is New Zealand’s largest war plane, it seems. It’s also New Zealand’s…
Review: New Holland Beer Barrel Rye
New Holland Brewing Company’s Beer Barrel Bourbon was a pioneer, back in 2013, of finishing whiskey in beer casks. Now the Michigan-based company is back with a new whiskey: Beer Barrel Rye. The idea is much the same as before. This is a double-distilled rye (no mashbill available) that is aged in new oak barrels…
Review: Chairman’s Reserve Original Rum and The Forgotten Casks Rum (2018)
Saint Lucia Distillers is home to the Chairman’s Reserve brand, which currently comprises four spirits from white to spiced. Saint Lucia’s rums are typically blended from both column and pot still rums that are aged separately in bourbon barrels. Today we look at Chairman’s Original Rum, a mainstream amber release, and The Forgotten Casks, its…
Review: Riunite Sangria
Dirty secret: Premixed Sangria is usually better than you expect. Riunite — yes, that Riunite — recently released a bottled Sangria — “aromatized wine,” as they say on the label — that, while Italian instead of Spanish in origin, is no exception to the rule. While quite sweet, it’s a beverage that’s loaded with fruit…
Review: West Cork Glengarriff Series Irish Whiskey – Peat Charred Cask and Bog Oak Charred Cask
West Cork Distillers is a relatively little-known Irish whiskey producer (as of yet). Why might that change? Because, in addition to a baseline of Irish whiskeys, it also produces some oddball rarities, including these new limited releases: Glengarriff Series Peat Charred Cask and Glengarriff Series Bog Oak Charred Cask are single malts aged in sherry casks…
Perfect Pairings: Sushi and Sauvignon Blanc
Surely you know the major food and drink pairings. Red wine goes with meat. White goes with fish. White zinfandel goes with a hangover. There is some truth to these generalizations, but only some. There are many exceptions as well. And, at the end of the day, it is important to remember that the most…
